The Necropolis Railway - (Jim Stringer Mysteries) by Andrew Martin (Paperback)

About the Book

Young, ambitious, and a little green, Jim Stringer moves from the country to the garish, seedy, and dangerous side of 1903 London, determined to become a railway man. A chance meeting has gotten him his foot in the door of the South East Railway, run out of Waterloo Station. Jim finds his duties are confined to a mysterious graveyard line, the so-called Necropolis Railway, which takes dead bodies from central London to the gigantic new cemeteries being built--dug--in the city's outskirts. For some reason, the men he works alongside have formed an instant loathing for him. And his predecessor has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Forced to live by his wits and to arrive at his own deductions, Jim tries to work out what is going on before he too gets a one-way ticket on board the Necropolis Railway.

This novel launches a series featuring Jim Stringer, who, with the help of his landlady--soon his wife and easily his match in wit--tackles some of the darker mysteries that have ridden the rails of England in the Edwardian Age, the period of Kipling, Peter Pan, and H.G. Wells. It will be followed by BLACKPOOL FLYER and THE LOST LUGGAGE PORTER.

Book Synopsis

Bright and ambitious, young Jim Stringer moves from the English countryside to London deter- mined to become a railway man. It is 1903, the dawn of the Edwardian age, when steam runs the nation and the railways drive progress. Jim can't believe his luck to have gotten his foot in the door at South East Railway, run out of Waterloo Station. He finds, however, that his duties involve a graveyard shift, literally--a railway line that takes coffins from London morgues to the gigantic new cemeteries being dug in the city's outskirts. He also learns that his predecessor had disappeared and that his coworkers seem to have formed an instant loathing for him. Forced to live by his wits and to arrive at his own deductions--assisted by his landlady, for whom he falls-- he tries to figure out what is going on before he is issued a one-way ticket on the Necropolis Railway.

From the Back Cover

"Martin s debut, loaded with railway lore, pairs a lively, often macabre look at turn-of-the-century London with a bang-up mystery." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A classy potboiler . . . in the best formal traditions of Dickens and Collins (let alone Christie and Chandler)." The Times (London)
When railway man Jim Stringer moves to the garish and tawdry London of 1903, he finds his duties are confined to a mysterious graveyard line. Perplexingly, the men he works alongside have formed an instant loathing for him, and his predecessor has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Forced to live by his wits and assisted by his alluring landlady, he struggles to unearth the truth before he is issued a one-way ticket on the Necropolis Railway.
"An ingenious and atmospheric thriller . . . crackles with the idiom and slang of the period. An eccentric delight."--Daily Express (London)
"So diverting that reader and hero are swept off their feet into a noisy, steamy, antiquated world of great danger." The Guardian (Book of the Week)
ANDREW MARTIN was a Spectator (London) Young Writer of the Year. He lives in London.
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Review Quotes

"Guaranteed to make the flesh creep and the skin crawl. A masterful novel about a mad, clanking, fog-bound world."--Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman and The Map That Changed the World "A classy potboiler . . . in the best traditions of Dickens and Collins (let alone Christie and Chandler)." --The Times (London)